


City Of Night

by sombraslesbian (SpaceMcCowboy)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Angst, Blood Drinking, F/F, Falling in love in one day, Fareeha and Jesse are best bros, Gen, Halloween AU, Humor, Me trying to think what the fuck I should even tag, Or one night I guess, Possesion, Suicidal Thoughts, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Vampire Bites, Yeah welcome to this fucking nightmare, also this fic is huge so yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 11:16:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13247097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceMcCowboy/pseuds/sombraslesbian
Summary: Basically a halloween AU based around Symmetras vampire skin and Pharahs possessed skin, ft angst and Jokes™





	City Of Night

**Author's Note:**

> HEY GAMERS IM BACK  
> aaaand here's a little (hahahaa “little.” fuck me) pet project of mine! I've been writing this for a good while and I'm very proud to share it tbh  
> i apologize because this got WAY bigger than i originally intended and the story is written in a way i wasnt sure about dividing it in chapters so uh…. yeah enjoy this fucking monster of a fic  
> I'm not gonna hold y'all anymore, so thanks for checking my fic out and good reading!!
> 
> (Also, I don't have a beta reader but I reread this many times to make sure there's no mistakes, but sometimes things just go over my head so feel free to correct me! Also, if I happen to portray one of the characters here in an offensive manner, lmk IMMEDIATELY so I can fix it and I apologize in advance!!!)

 

 

How many years had even passed?

Everything seemed to crumble before her, even though nothing new was really happening.

All started when her mother simply disappeared, and it only went downhill from there.  
With no justification or reason, worming its way between the wounds of her trauma, came the thing.

A parasitic presence, something that seemed to attempt to simply cause as much chaos as possible, bringing in things that were from others, and taking her to a state of such lunacy even her own body struggled to accept.

When it wasn't trying to get its hands on her mind to control, it was bringing in visions, scenes. Experiences of what the thing maybe once was, now passed by to her without her consent or acceptance.

Those memories were so vivid, so… Graphic, even without a real base to them. She would have vicious, various nightmares, horrid memories of pain, suffering, death; all of which just couldn't be hers.

Her perception was decaying at a worrying pace, her understanding of the world becoming skewed, untrustworthy.

When she wasn't trying to keep herself out of what seemed like a trance, she hid the changes the thing did when it came at full force.  
She didn't want anybody to know.

Now, she just wandered about, being what she knew, what her mother had always taught. A guard, a fireworker, a protector, whatever got in her way. Her last gig as a detective seemed to work well, until the thing was suddenly adamant in slowing her down. Her current break of the job was supposed to be doing wonders, and yet she knew every second away from work just made things worse.  
Because in the end, she was meant to help others, never herself.  
Save lives, except for her own.

That path maybe was what led her to where she was now. To this undead state of living, to this presence by her side, keeping this unhealthy relationship with something that could be even not as real as she thought - It could be all made up by her, even if unconsciously.

Now, at the age of thirty two, Fareeha Amari felt as if her life had already ended long ago. Years before where she was, all her memories, her feelings, all were in ruins.  
Her mind was a disaster, and it was becoming unbearable.  
Not like whatever seemed to want it made it easy for her.

Something she couldn't simply get rid of, no matter what she tried, how much she pleaded. It was always there, making sure her existence was miserable, unfeeling, numb.

Never better, never normal, always worse.

She wished she could just put a damn name on it, put a finger on what it was.  
Wished she could make it physical, deal with it herself, beat it up. Teach this thing a good lesson; to never mess with someone of her caliber.  
Because she was a strong and courageous woman, and a thing so silly would never take her down.

But she couldn't, whatever it was that enjoyed appropriating her body seemed content in living where she before had a deep but hidden emptiness.  
Maybe it was already there long before, only manifesting when it had a chance, like a sleeping plague, waiting for its moment to shine.

Before Fareeha could dig herself deeper into her daily existential crisis or take a turn and dive in suicidal thoughts, she heard her phone buzz inside her bag. The light sound of guitars dragged her back to reality; the crowded bus, the uncomfortable seats, the man asleep by her side - even if she really didn't want to go back.  
Not now, not never.

After fumbling with all the pockets and zippers inside for a full minute she finally found her phone and read the message, still making its presence on screen clear.  
She turned the notification alert off immediately, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.  
At first, when she had installed that guitar solo as her ring tone she thought it was perfect- and maybe a little cheesy, but now she just felt like a clown every time she was in public and those things would start their loud screech.

She looked back at the message again.  
That ridiculous username always made her smirk, no matter how depressed she was, or how far the thing was dragging her down.  
It was a breather, even if dumb.

_BadAssMotherFuck: hey Fareeha_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: bad news :(_

She waited for him to finish, but he wasn't typing.  
She sighed but smiled calmly, already used to these types of ‘I want to talk but I'll let you ask first so I don't have to,’ ordeals and sent in a reply.

_Fareeha: What happened?_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: so yea about our gathering today_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: im kinda sick so_

Instinctively, she tightened her grip on the phone, as if it could somehow indicate to him that it caught her off guard. As if he could have an idea of how much those meetings meant to her, as if he could see how much she wanted to end her life, as if he could just make everything better and-

_BadAssMotherFuck: can you come here to my house?lol_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: i dont wanna puke on some fancy restaurant id rather just puke here_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: its cheaper anyways lo_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: and uh my neighboors wanted to do this secret friend slash meetup slash Halloween party and like i thought hey fareeha would love to meet em_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: Yknow two birds one stone_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: you don't even need to wear a costume I promise_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: so uh_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: we can buy a pizza or somethin_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: if thts ok of course_

Oh.  
Her shoulders sank as she felt her body backtrack on all the built tension and let out a long sigh of relief, maybe a little too loud, judging by the weird look she got from the now awake guy by her side.  
She asked herself how he slept by the guitars before turning her attention back to the phone.

_Fareeha: Sure :) I was feeling kind of tired anyways.but I will not wash the dishes_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: THANK YOU_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: also i have a dish washer now so HA suck it!!!_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: you coming??_  
_Fareeha: Im on my way._  
_BadAssMotherFuck: also buy smth for me :) since u entered the game late and all_  
_Fareeha: sure._  
_Fareeha: i want pineapple pizza also._  
_BadAssMotherFuck: disgusting. your gross_  
_Fareeha: my gross? its fine, I guess, but I keep forgetting to feed it_

One whole minute passed, and Fareeha started to actually worry about her friends well being, as if a dumb response like that had murdered him on the spot, or as if he finally decided to end their friendship forever.  
And then, he replied.

_BadAssMotherFuck: hey uh fareeha? im uh. going to kill myself real quick thanks for ruining my day_

Fareeha couldn't contain an ugly laugh, and had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't receive any more glares from the guy by her side who seemed to hate her guts for making so many noises.

_Fareeha: alright alright im sorry_  
_Fareeha: ill be with you shortly._  
_BadAssMotherFuck: :)_  
_Fareeha: sorry for not asking about your gross also how is it_  
_BadAssMotherFuck: please die_

She giggled, quietly this time, and put her phone back inside the bag. Maybe this dinner was exactly what she needed to calm herself and the thing down.  
At least for a night.

\----

The sun had just finished setting down when Fareeha arrived at the old and somehow always rusty apartment block.  
That thing had always looked like that ever since she saw it, more than 15 years ago. It seemed stuck in time, contrasting with all the glowing and sophisticated buildings all around.  
Fareeha was sure it probably had people who still used cars with tires living inside it.

Like her friend Jesse, who only didn't own a horse due to monetary problems, even though she insisted she could give him one.  
She giggled at the thought of how he was basically a humanized version of the building, perhaps somehow a little ruffier.

She paused before entering the lobby, holding the small gift she had bought on the way there, keeping it tight under her arm as if it would just be taken from her at any given moment.  
A bad habit of hers, holding onto things and people so strongly, figuratively and literally.  
She wondered to herself if unconsciously, she did that to the thing too.

Enough. She needed to be normal, at least for the night.  
And over analyzing her habit of holding a box and comparing it to her problems wasn't exactly close to normal.

A quick check before entering assured her everything was in place. The gift resting under arm, the cheap chacal hat she managed to buy rested on her head. It wasn't a costume, far from it, but it was better than nothing.

She greeted the half asleep doorman who replied with a forced smile, and headed to the cranky elevator.  
It moved comically slow, and she spent the time switching between long ‘looking at herself in the mirror and reflecting about the time passing too quickly’ sessions and just pretty much dissociating while the thing sluggishly made its way up.

When it finally arrived at the last floor, the loud sound of metal doors opening and the small corridor of apartments was like a confirmation for her that she was there.  
She was there, alive.  
Alright.

Just as small as she remembered, and just as inviting as well.

She eyed the other apartment doors with curiosity as she stepped out of the lift, remembering when Jesse mentioned that some new neighbors had moved in. The last time she had come to visit- which admittedly, it was a very long time ago- the floor was pretty much empty, save from Jesse at 14A and the lovely climatologist who lived over at 14D.

Fareeha wondered if she still lived there, and the thought brought a warm feeling to her heart. The woman was such a genuinely pleasant person to be around.  
A memory of the time she attempted to teach Fareeha a bit of mandarin made its way to her mind. It didn't work, but it was fun to try it.  
And she made simply the best vanilla ice cream Fareeha had ever tasted - it was a perfect balance of flavor and deliciously creamy; The only sweeter thing to exist was probably the woman herself.

She soon identified Jesse's door by the huge cowboy sticker he had glued there.  
It wasn't as bright as before, now being less vibrant and one of the boots lacked its spurs. Some rippings were around the figure, and she couldn’t stiffen a laugh as she thought of Jesse trying to desperately remove the antiquated thing. Not to mention a rather… Unfortunate place for a hole on the mans belt buckle. Jesse must have been appalled when he noticed it.

The climatologist still seemed to live there, and the contrast between hers and Jesses door was ridiculous.  
Her door was so clean it was unnatural, and it had the form of a light blue snowflake painted on it. That had to be new, along with the potted plants carefully placed on each side of it.

Fareeha was going to call it a day and just go knock at Jesse's, until something inside her told her to look around more; As if she was investigating, gathering informations that went right by her due to her focused state, instead of just visiting a friend to eat pizza.

At least the thing liked to play detective -Fareeha wouldn't be bothered by that.

She then started to look around.

Jesse’s new neighbor seemed to be living on the 14C. She had never met the woman, all she knew was that she was apparently a bodybuilder and had broken her doorknob more times than it should be humanly possible. She wondered if she would be at the party as well- Maybe they could do that arm wrestling championship Jesse was so adamant on doing.

The door to the left of the elevator, the 14E, had a gigantic spot of orange paint on it, sprawled all across the wood that seemed one step away from just cracking open. She guessed the owner had planned on painting it, but just gave up halfway on the plan and didn't bother to clean what they had already done.  
There were also drawings around the door and on the floor that seemed to be made of chalk, and at first she guessed by the yellow smiley faces and the two stick figures doing various heists together that those must have been made by child. She changed her mind when she started to notice small dicks inserted carefully in many of the drawings.  
Her eyes dropped to the incredibly dusty porch, catching the sight of a small doormat with a pink pig wearing a delicate ribbon. As dirty as it was, she thought it was really cute.

The door in front of this one, the 14F, also seemed to be now occupied.  
It wasn't as busy as the one she had just analysed which was a breather, but it still managed to stick out.  
Unlike all the others, it didn't seem to have an identity. It just had a generic doormat with “Welcome!” written on it.  
Fareeha glared at it as if the apartment would come to life to formally confess and spill its secrets; She knew homes like these always had them. From her own experience, she knew the more someone attempted to blend in and accept normality, the more they had to hide.  
Just like her.

She finished her staring contest with the apartment when she heard the elevator doors pop open.  
A woman walked out of it wearing casual clothing, with the exception of her jacket which read ‘Hackerman” in all caps. It was so crudely done Fareeha wondered if she had written that herself.  
She had her eyes glued to her phone and earphones on, and didn’t seem to notice Fareeha at all. Under her free arm, she held a poorly wrapped box.

Fareeha discretely walked over to Jesse's apartment while keeping a careful eye on the mysterious person, who walked over to the 14B apartment and unlocked a door Fareeha hadn't paid mind until then.  
It had a purple skull on it, and the door was left wide open as she went inside. The apartment was dark, but Fareeha could see the light of a laptop on the kitchen counter, and could make out various wires sprawled across the floor.

She wondered who owned that mysterious house, then.  
But as always, her thought process was interrupted, this time by the loud noise of the door being shut close. While it happened right in front of her and she should have seen it coming, in her defense her zoning out was really heavy most of the time.

The woman had removed her earphones and had her back to Fareeha, but she was now singing a strange mix between english and spanish.

“I see you there,” She said while still fiddling with the lock.  
Fareeha was startled, and decided to go through the safer route of not replying and looking away.  
She heard a click, and when she turned her head around the woman was dangerously close to her, wearing a huge smile.  
“Fareeha, yes?” She asked.

Fareeha felt her blood freeze.  
As if the woman knew her name, she knew it all.  
Did she know about her mother? Her crises? The thing that never left her alone?

Part of her brain screamed Run, and another part told her to Calm down and act like a normal human being, please?  
She couldn't make out which part was really her and which was just the thing speaking, not that it even mattered.

A consensus was made, and Fareeha muttered a “excuse me” , turned around and knocked Jesse's door so loudly she was sure she heard the wood crack.

Jesse opened it ten seconds later, looking at her completely confused.  
He wasn't bullshitting her as he did look visibly sick; He had noticeable bags under his drowsy eyes and he was wearing a sweater which ages ago could be considered large, but now barely covered his stomach, showing a bit of brown skin. All while wearing parts of his old Van Helsing costume, such as the hat and the boots. It was certainly an… Interesting sight, to say the least, but Fareeha could comment on his marvelous outfit later.

“Jesus Fareeha, don't need to break my door like that-” She interrupted by bolting inside, mumbling sorrys to him.

Fareeha stood behind him as if he was a shield, all while the other woman seemed to be losing it. She was cackling hysterically, and Jesse just seemed more and more confused.

“Oh my god, Fareeha, I only know your name because Joel over here told me. _Relajarte_ , I'm not stalking you,” She said with a smirk but Fareeha could catch her muttering ‘ _todavía_ ’ to herself- and her own poor spanish was enough to tell her that very clearly meant _yet_.

Fareeha eyed her with suspicion, and Jesse made the most tired look possible.  
“How many times… Do I gotta say this… My name isn’t Joel....” He grumbled, closing the door as the other woman came in.

She laughed, and Fareeha whispered close to him, ”Who is Joel,”  
Jesse merely huffed in response.

“Oh, also. Call me Sombra.” The woman, now Sombra, said looking behind her shoulder and Fareeha took a mental note to look into her. Later, however. That was enough stress for a night.

The trio walked over to the small living room, and Jesse clasped his hands together.  
“So we were just about to play some Monopoly, you two up for it? “

The nice climatologist was there, wearing a jiangshi costume- Fareeha was only able to identify that because she somehow remembered the climatologist telling her about it while the two watched a -very poorly made and unintentionally hilarious- horror movie.  
She waved as soon as she met eyes with them, her smile so genuine it brought a warmth to Fareehas heart, and wasted no time in getting up and giving the tightest of bear hugs and the sweetest of greetings, the smell of vanilla ice cream somehow still present on her.

“You remember Mei, right? You two were kinda friends back then-” Jesse said, taking both gifts from Sombra and Fareeha. “She brought the biggest gift, can you believe it?”

Mei laughed and sat down back again, signing for a free place for Fareeha to sit.

It was only then that Fareeha noticed the other two figures sitting together and the massive woman wearing 80s clothing sitting just by Mei’s side. Sombra made finger guns at the duo and sat near the two.

“You must be Fareeha,” The woman was the first to speak, crossing her arms with a huge smile. “Jesse told me about you. Mentioned arm wrestling, said that you are a master on it!”  
Fareeha rolled her eyes at Jesse, who replied with an innocent smile.

“Just call her Zarya. Don’t worry bout her, I bet’ya can win no problem!” He said, and Zarya let out a booming laugh.

“We will see! No one beats me. Not even him,” She said, pointing to the duo Fareeha hadn’t talked to yet.

A huge, brute looking man was sitting down, wearing a Frankenstein's monster costume, but for some reason his mask had a snout. He just laughed back at Zarya, saying a low “Sure,” as she teased him more. He then looked at Fareeha and made a silent thumbs up.

“Oi! Introduce yourself, ya drongo!” The guy by his side called out, and he sighed.

“Mako.” He said, looking back at the guy with crossed arms, who in return stood up on his seat and waved both arms at such a rapid pace Fareeha was sure he was either trying to helicopter away or work as a human fan. He wore a Frankenstein costume, which she guessed was supposed to pair up with the first guy.

“Name´s Jamison! Call me Jamie, though, less formal!”

“Alright, everyone's here, can we play now?” Sombra asked, grabbing some bills from the board.  
Fareeha waited for Jesse to remind her of the mysterious missing neighbor, but instead he moved over and started reading the rules. She wanted to ask, maybe they knew more…

No, she was exaggerating. Drawing conclusions out of a doormat and lack of decorations, getting worried about someone who probably just couldn’t attend the party. She could worry about it later, anyways.

They started playing, and it got frustrating pretty quickly.  
Sombra would cheat so much and to a degree they ended up having to restart the match. If it wasn't her, then it was Jamie, who would pull up some rule out of thin air and insist that “In the version that I have that rule’s valid!”, all of those which coincidentally helped him specifically. His third attempt resulted in a quite heated argument between him and Zarya, that only ended when Jesse looked up and proved to Jamie that no, you can't do a “bank heist” after you've gone bankrupt.  
Plus at least two times where Jesse, the banker, would just zone out and throw around money like it was nothing, mixing up one thousand and one hundred thousand bills every five seconds for good measure.  
At the end of the mark of one hour, they still hadn't been able to finish a single match.

Fareeha excused herself for a minute. She needed to breath a little, and from the looks of it the tension of the room was surely rising, as everyone just glared at each other as Jesse distributed the money.

\--

Fareeha was busy staring at her own reflection when she heard a sudden growing commotion outside. It wasn't uncommon for monopoly matches to go south quickly, in fact it was quite expected and from the way everyone had been miliseconds from jumping at each other's throats she wasn’t surprised. But she was hearing too much screaming all at once, a mix between just literal monosyllabic screeches and monopoly related content, as if a serial killer had just broken in but at the same time they were all really determined to finish at _least_ one match.

“Hey, is everything alright-” Her question was cut short as she saw the quickly growing flames cracking on the center of the board, while the guests were all yelling around it -with the exception of Mako, who was just quietly and daintily sipping his soda with a single pinky out, somehow doing it through his mask- like they were realizing some sort of ritual for a board game loving cult.

“S-She was cheating!!” Jamie was the first to form an actual sentence and pointed a shaking finger at Mei, who was already red from so much screaming. His other hand- a prosthetic, Fareeha noted- held Jesse’s lighter, giving away his culprit state.

“I was not!” She replied with a hiss, and before their discussion could continue Jesse put himself between the two.

“It doesn't matter if she did! The fuck, Jamie?! Ya can't- Ya ain't- Ya can't just set fire to my things!!” McCree crossed his arms with clear distress on his voice, “Besides, it ain't cheating that Mei bought the card you wanted, cause she got there first! That's how monopoly _works_!”

At that point, another fight broke in. Fareeha was so startled it all sounded like white noise. Everyone shouting, Sombra somehow recording all of it as indiscreetly as she could while Zarya chastised her for it, Mako finally getting up and attempting to control Jamie's shrieks, Jesse getting interrupted constantly by either Jamie or Mei- It was overwhelming.

Fareeha felt pressured. Back then she would just feel surprised and find the situation easy to deal with and quite comical, but with the thing, all their voices were amplified to various uncanny degrees, getting under her skin and making her head ache.  
None of their words formed sentences, just endless noise making her ears feel like they were ready to pop.

She needed a solution, quick. She needed to get out of there, but to solve the conflict as well.

A sudden memory came back to her.

“Jesse, is the fire extinguisher from upstairs still there?”

He looked just as stressed as her, his illness amplifying the situation just like the thing, and muttered a simple ‘yes’.

“I'm going to get it. Open the window and try to get the board close to it so the smoke won't spread inside,” Her voice was high, in hopes that they would listen. He made a thumbs up in reply before pointing to the door.

“Left it open. You remember where it is?” He asked while attempting to get the lighter away from Jamie's shaking hands.

Fareeha nod in reply and rushed for the door. She walked fast enough not to run, but to get away from the apartment as quick as possible.

The elevator didn't reach the 15th floor; She could only get there by the stairs. Which wasn't a problem in on itself, but the lack of light didn't exactly make it safer and her phones flashlight was long dead.

She got there only having stumbled two times, which was a win. The worn emergency doors were already open, and Fareeha was greeted with a sight she hadn't seen for a long time.

The 15th floor was an empty area on the roof, with containers, the water box, broken roof tiles- it wasn't anything special for most, but Fareeha held many fond memories of the place.  
It was where she and her friends would go to do whatever, when she was still young, and her biggest worry was getting home in time to watch her favorite cartoon.  
When the thing wasn't a factor in her life.

A smile formed on her face as she could remember her and Jesse here, accompanied by people who she barely talked to anymore, like Lena and Genji.  
The group would always come and watch over the stars and make up goofy constellations, play board games for hours with rules so bizarre they could make Jamie jealous, or in some instances, they would just sit and talk about the future.

She had so many memories, all untouched by the thing that tried to kill her mind more everyday.

This was a place of so many stories.  
It was here that Genji broke his arm after trying to do a backflip. When it happened, the group was in a state of shock, but days later they all laughed about it,and wrote silly messages on the plaster the boy had to use. Genji was soon over it, and was so confident that he decided to try and do a backflip again. He managed to succeed, only to then trip on the stairs and break his other arm.

It was also here that Jesse won for the first -and last time- on a race against Lena and Genji. He was happy, even after previously arriving 20 consecutive times on last place, and even though he kind of cheated by doing a literal combat roll to arrive at the finish line.

The only time he was more excited was when the group found a pigeon with a broken wing. Jesse fell in love with the miserable bird, and he cried half of his weight equivalent of tears when they had to set it free.

Traces of the many chalk drawings the group constantly did were still there. The dragons Genji drew, the planes Lena dreamed about. The cowboys Jesse loved, her clouds.

She looked up, and the sky had various forms moving at their own pace. Fareeha smiled, remembering herself watching them move for hours, dreaming about reaching the sky, touching them, not having it be a limit, but a goal.

She identified more drawings on the floor; more dragons, a rainbow, another dragon, the pigeon wearing a cowboy hat and a sheriff’s badge, a cowboy dragon…  
And two eyes, side by side.

Fareehas smile vanished, that memory hitting her like a train.  
Her mother, and her.  
Here.

It was here when Fareeha had drawn her own eye, with a tattoo she would soon have, like her mother. Her mother had smiled, and then drew her own.  
“We need to go now, habibti. It’s getting late.” Her tender voice rang from the deepest corners of her mind.

It sounded real, as if she was there right now, talking to her, with a hand on her shoulder and a kind smile. Her constant smell of tea, the strong but calm grip of her hand.

Fareeha turned around, but she saw nothing. The smell, the hand, the voice; they immediately disappeared without a mere trace.

Her mind kept going against her will, and she realized just how much of a vulnerable place she had put herself in. That last bit of memory she had been trying to forget was the last time Fareeha ever came to this place before her mother disappeared.  
Soon, she had stopped coming all together, stopped answering the texts her friends sent, stopped looking at the skies.  
It was the beginning of her current situation, closer to death than anything else.

Hot tears started to slide down her cheeks and she could feel sobs building up. It was too much and all too sudden for her to handle, coming without warning and with something so heavy. She could barely breathe.

The small unisex toilet that was on the floor came to her mind, and she rushed for it, wanting to get away from any and all reminders.

It was surprisingly not as dirty as she expected it to be, not that it would even make a difference. She stood in front of the only sink with a mirror, the others either cracked or just gone.  
She splashed cold water on her face and closed her eyes, as if when she opened them, it would be over, all of it.

With both hands holding around the sink she watched as the water wormed its way around the tap, as if it avoided but simultaneously wanted to go down the drain, along with her pouring tears. Her breathing became steadier, more controlled.

She wouldn’t let it get to her. She had to be strong,she had to resist, she couldn’t cry over something that happened so long ago.  
Not anymore.

With a huff she closed the tap and met eyes with her tired reflection. She looked over her shoulder to avoid her own stare, and froze over what she saw.  
At the end of the small room, using a sink as calmly as possible, there was another woman.

Fareeha hadn't even heard her breathe, and she had no idea of where that woman had come from.  
Worst of all, when the shock started to fade, Fareeha still felt her heart pound aggressively with adrenaline inside her chest.  
Because the completely silent woman who washed her hands at ten o’clock on a shitty bathroom had two very striking things about her.

One, which was a very clear line of blood going from the woman’s lips down to her chin.

Two, the woman was probably the most beautiful person Fareeha had ever seen in her entire life. She was so mesmerizing it was intoxicating just to look, and she felt like even the thing seemed taken aback.

The woman was strikingly out of place. Her dark skin seemed desaturated, having a dead tone to it, which contrasted with her bright red eyes.Those had to be fake;they were unnaturally alike the blood on her skin, only lighter.  
She had also prosthetic right arm, similar to Jesse’s; though it seemed more well done and neater, somehow, as if she took great care to keep it as perfect as possible.  
Her clothing wasn’t out of the ordinary, except for the pair of bat themed stockings she wore, that got Fareeha’s attention for a reason she didn’t exactly understand.

Fareeha only realized she was staring when the bats turned to face her.  
She looked up and the woman was glaring, those red eyes seemed to pierce through as if she had just committed the worst of offenses.

“And who would you be?” She asked, and her voice was absolutely precise and quite pleasant to hear.

Fareeha shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket casually, attempting to act normally and pretend she hadn't gotten caught.  
“I’m. Fareeha. Hey,” She replied, feeling immediately like a complete buffoon who couldn't form a mere sentence.

The woman raised one of her perfectly drawn eyebrows, and her eyes seemed to met Fareeha’s; but they didn't. They glared through her, as if she wasn't there.  
It seemed the woman wasn’t a fan of intense eye contact, or any for the matter. It was fine, since Fareeha wasn’t either.

“Fareeha” she repeated,as if testing the name on her tongue. ”I haven't seen you here before, Fareeha.”

“Yeah I'm, uh, visiting a friend. Well it's. It's a party, kinda. Sorry, I didn't catch your name?”

“I didn't give it.”

Fareeha must have made a surprised face, if she could tell anything about yet again the raise of one single eyebrow.

“Oh. I see. Okay.” Fareeha scratched the back of her head, feeling suddenly silly when she remembered she was still wearing the chacal hat.

The woman didn't seem mind it, or even notice it, anyways.  
She was occupied looking… Well, somewhere. She looked worn out, even more than Jesse did.

“You are... Going over to Jesse's?” Fareeha tried, breaking the silence. The woman made a face like she was just caught committing a crime, and shifted her stance, one arm hiding behind her back.

Fareeha could see a glimpse of a gift box. She was right, and she couldn’t help but feel a silly sense of glee that she had finally found out who the mysterious neighbor was. But what was she even doing here? There was no way she had gotten herself lost on her own floor.

“Parties already started. But, I'm not gonna lie, you didn't lose much. Unless you enjoy playing the world's worst edition of Monopoly.” She said with a smile, but the woman didn't budge. She had no expression other than her now widened eyes, like a deer in the middle of the road staring at the headlights of an upcoming truck.

“I… See.” The woman hummed finally, after a long period of silence. She was pulling on the collar of her shirt, and Fareeha could see hints of a necklace. “I apologize, but I don't think I will be attending the party. Could you… Could I ask you a favor?”

“Sure,” Fareeha replied, crossing her arms.

“Could you give him this?” Her voice sounded apologetic as she walked a single step closer and showed the gift. It was a neatly wrapped blue box, with the fanciest looking bow Fareeha had ever seen.

Fareeha took it in her hand, and something seemed to egg her further, closer to this woman. Was that the thing trying to take over or just her? She didn't know. And it didn't matter.

“Are you sure you don't want to go? You're already wearing the costume,” She said, shifting her feet as the box came to rest under her arm. “It's gonna be fun!”

“No, thank you,” The woman replied, and as Fareeha lowered her gaze, she noticed something red was smeared on her flesh hand.

“Hey, you got uh,” Fareeha made a motion to her own hand, and the woman frowned. “You- Here, your-” She approached her hand to the woman's own, who immediately pulled it away and took a step back.

“Sorry, sorry. I'm not going to touch you, okay. But your hand, did you scrape it? Can I help?”

The woman twitched her head in confusion and looked at her flesh hand, before letting out a sigh.

“I am fine. This is just a scratch.” She said, and her voice sounded more sick than before.

“Doesn't look like a scratch, seems to be pretty deep. Listen, you don't have to go to the party, but you seem to have a really big cut in your wrist. We have to at least-”

“Just… Leave.” She managed to say with a pained cough.

Her coughs filled the toilet, and before Fareeha could get closer to help she rushed to one of the stalls and vomited. Her gasps and coughs filled the room, and Fareeha was getting more worried by the second.

“Let me help you, you’re clearly-”

“I do not need your help. Tell Jesse that gift is his,” Her voice rang, now rasp. Her lack of care for her own well being was starting to freak Fareeha out; She was bleeding, with an open wound and vomiting, and her biggest worry was telling the right destination of the gift?

“Okay. I'm calling Jesse. We have to get help-”

“Don't, please.” She replied, voice so low Fareeha barely heard it, followed by the flush of the toilet. “I am fine. You can leave.”

The woman went to wash her mouth, but her long hair fell to her face, getting the tips wet.

Fareeha couldn't handle just passively watching her suffer, and against her better judgement approached her and held her hair above her head as carefully as she could.  
Surprisingly, the woman didn't flinch, giving a mere glare as she went back to the sink.

“You need to let me help you somehow. You're hurt, and sick.”

“Don't call anyone.” She said, voice still low but going slowly back to normal.

“I won't. Don't worry, I won't.” Fareeha replied, happy that she at least was accepting her help.

The woman seemed to surprisingly calm down, even if not much. Fareeha decided not to ask why she was so adamant to not getting help; She didn't want to make her more stressed than she already was.

She stood up straight, her flesh hand holding the edge of the sink as she made full eye contact, watching Fareehas every move as she grabbed the cleanest paper towels she found and watered them.

“Can I?” Fareeha asked, offering a hand. Fareeha knew getting water on prosthetics wasn't exactly recommended, and by how clean it looked she guessed the woman wouldn't be too fond of rests of blood clinging to it.

She hesitated, but gave in, hovering her hand above Fareehas waiting one. Fareeha made sure not to directly touch her as she passed the paper delicately on her skin, the woman flinching in pain once in awhile.

But soon, the blood was gone. It was all mostly dry, and she could see the wound more clearly. It neared her radial artery, the skin darkened in the shape of a bite, and where the canines would go two wounds replaced it.

Fareeha had her lips in a thin line, unsure of what to say.

“Uh, is… This part of your costume?”

No answer; The woman just pulled her hand back and glared.

“You can go now.”

“Wait, let me just-” A sudden scream of guitar wheezes broke the heavy mood, and the woman's annoyance was replaced by a confused look. Fareeha felt her face burn as she swore she was changing that ring tone as soon as she possibly could and took her phone out of her back pocket.

“E-Excuse me,” She said, not even looking at the screen before answering.

“Fareeha? Where are you?”

Oh. The whole current situation had made her forget about why she came upstairs in the first place.

“Uh.”

“Did’ya hit your head or something? You've been gone for a while now!”

“No, no I'm fine.”

“Don't tell me you got stuck outside. Hang on, I have the k-”

“Wait!” The woman narrowed her eyes at her sudden raise of voice, and Fareeha immediately put the phone on speaker, not wanting her to think she was calling people over behind her back. “I'm not stuck, I tripped on the way here and hurt my leg, just took a second to ease the pain. I'm fine now, don’t worry- And did you guys uh, take out the fire?”

The woman raised an eyebrow, probably trying to understand if she was using codes or just literally talking about a fire.  
There was a pause on the other end of the line, and she could hear the voices of the other guests. Mostly Jamie's voice, although, and she heard an embarrassed fit of giggles from him before Jesse finally spoke.

“Well we put the fire out-” A loud cough from the other side broke in and Jesse sighed, “Sorry, Mako put the fire out. Boards busted though, so no more Monopoly.” She could hear the relief in his voice, and smiled. “So uh, you don't need to get the fire extinguisher anymore. Though if you find it, bring it. Were playing Uno now, did ya hear any screams?  
Jamie´s one step away from burnin´down all my furniture over here and I keep eating plus fours. Help me.”

She wanted to laugh, but she realized he was telling her to go back. She couldn't, not yet at least.

“Well, you guys can keep going, I'll be back in a while.”

“What? Why?”

The look he had in his face of confusion was probably the same as the one the woman was currently giving her.

“I have to go back home. I forgot my phone,” Fareeha said, and immediately froze as the stupidity of her excuse hit her, along with the face the woman made and Jesse’s immediate silence.

“You’re talkin’ to me right now. On. On your phone.” He replied, his tone in a mix of suspicion and disbelief.

“My phone charger. I meant the charger.”

Another pause.

“Listen, my phone is almost dead. I have to turn off now.”

“Fare-”

“I’ll be back soon-” She replied, and turned it off with a huff.

The woman was staring at her, her expression unreadable. Fareeha expected her to be chided for such a dumb excuse, or be told to go away.

“I guess you’re not leaving then.”  
A pause as the woman narrowed her eyes.  
“My name is Satya.”

That wasn't what she was expecting.

“I'm Fareeha,” She replied, almost automatically.

“I already know that,” Satya said. “So, Fareeha, I see that you don’t plan on leaving my side tonight.”

“Well I mean, you’re hurt.”

“I’m better now.” Satya paused, and her shoulders seemed to fall with certain defeat. “But… I appreciate the favor. “

“I’m not done, though.”

“I noticed.”

“Ideally we would clean your bruises with more than just water and cover them up-”

“But I’m not going to go to Jesse’s apartment.” Satya interrupted.

“I figured. But you still got sick. You need some fresh air.”

Satya sighed, rubbing her temples together, “I need a drink,” She muttered to herself.

“Sure then. We’ll get some drinks.”

“We?”

“Yes, we. Us two!”  
Fareeha said, getting out of the restroom before Satya could even think of protesting.

\----

Satya had been quiet all the way from the building to the small café. It was the only shop open at the time, and Fareeha added that they were lucky they wouldn’t have to walk much when they got back. There weren’t many people in the street, but the duo got curious looks due to their admittedly half-assed costumes.

“You should get something citric. Helps with the queasiness,” Fareeha said, looking through the various options of juices and other beverages. “Wouldn’t recommend alcohol, it just worsens it.”

“I’m not feeling nausea anymore,” Satya replied, voice sounding tired and worn.

“It helps, I promise. Even if you’re not sick at the moment.”

Satya closed her eyes shut and sighed, her prosthetic hand fidgeting around the wound.

“Why are you… Why are you doing this?” She asked, eyes looking tired as she looked Fareeha in the eye.

“You’re sick. I’m trying to help. If I could, I would call someone to help with your wounds, but you asked me not to.” Fareeha replying, leaving the menu to rest on the table and crossing her arms.

“That much I know. But… Why? You don’t even know me. Did Jesse ask you to find me?” Satya replied, and Fareeha noticed her prosthetic fingers slowly approached the wound.

“Don’t’ do that,” Fareeha said, quickly placing a hand on Satya’s prosthetic, who in response flinched and moved her arm away from Fareeha’s reach.

The two fell into a uncomfortable silence. Satya begrudgingly accepted Fareeha´s suggestion and ordered a glass of lemonade. While the woman drank her beverage quietly, Fareeha found herself deep in thought.

Fareeha knew why she was helping Satya. Not because of her appearance or due to some silly detective plan to find more about her. She was genuinely worried, and her kind and helpful nature persevered, even as it was constantly attacked by the thing.

However, she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Satya. There was something… Off, about her, and Fareeha just couldn’t put her finger on what. Perhaps, much like her, she was haunted by a thing? It seemed plausible. The tiredness, the avoidance to getting help, the self harm… That could be it. But then again, it also couldn´t. There was a reason Fareeha had decided to take a break from work- Her perception wasn’t reliable and she could very well be absurdly off.

“Listen, I…” Fareeha started, unsure of what to say, “I don't know what happened to you, Satya. I don’t know much about you, or your life, or anything. All I know is that you were in need of help. That’s enough of a reason.” She sighed, crossing her arms tight against her chest as her chest as her heat thumped rapidly with adrenaline.

Satya seemed to consider her words, not making eye contact as she did so. Just when Fareeha was sure she wasn’t getting a reply, Satya spoke up.

“...Thank you.” She said, and Fareeha couldn’t help but smile. The two made small talk as Satya finished her drink and declared herself satisfied.

Fareeha then took out a pair of bills from her back pocket, and Satya’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t drink anything.” She said, and Fareeha didn’t know if it was a question or a statement.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Then… What’s the money for?”

“I’m paying. It’s only fair,” Fareeha said, calling a waiter and asking for the bill.

“I can pay for myself,” Satya replied, and even though her face looked offended her voice was nothing but surprise.

“You’re sick! It’s the least I can do. Besides, I dragged you all the way over here and you only drank that because of me. It’s only fair that I at least pay for it.”

Satya opened her mouth to protest, but before she could Fareeha had already paid the bill with a kind smile.

“You want to go back or stay here for a little longer?”

Satya considered her options, but settled on going back.

“Thank you again.” She said as the two left.

\--

The two women walked side by side back to the building while talking about a variety of subjetcs, and Fareeha couldn’t contain a goofy smile. It had been a while that she had felt such warmth and so safe around someone, let alone so quickly. There was just something to Satya that made her feel like she could trust her fully, and like she didn’t need to hide anything from her.

Of course, she needed to. Fareeha couldn’t tell about the thing. Or her past, because that included it. Really, she couldn’t tell a lot.  
But it was nice to think she could.

She was so focused on her sudden thoughts she barely noticed Satya had stopped walking.

“You alright?” Fareeha asked, feeling worry form inside her chest.

“Where are we going now?” Satya asked, her prosthetic fingers itching near the still healing wound.

“Well, that’s up to you, really. It’s getting late, so we probably shouldn’t be wandering around town with you still recovering,” Fareeha replied, lightly touching her hand so she would stop scratching. This time, she didn’t flinch, simply moving her hand away with a sigh.

Satya hummed to herself and looked around, her prosthetic now busy twirling a loose cloth of her shorts.

“I don’t really feel like going back home.” Satya admitted, and her voice sounded guilty. Fareeha wanted to reassure her she didn’t mind her company-in fact, she really enjoyed it, but Satya continued before she was able to. “Do you… Mind if I stay down here? I’ll just stay by the pool.”

“Not at all.” Fareeha said, and Satya made her way to the building’s so called pool and looked visibly relieved when she noticed Fareeha was following her.

The pool was probably the cleanest and newest part of the entire building, contrasting with the small and dirty court with two goals and a rusty basketball hoop right by its side.

The two sat down on the plastic chairs by the pool, and Fareeha couldn’t help but smirk at the court. Many memories of the games her friends used to play came to her, but she was unsure if she could freely remember those without the thing acting up again.

She caught Satya staring at her, her eyes curious at why Fareeha looked so gleeful all of the sudden.

“I used to play with my friends there,” Fareeha nod to the court, and Satya made a sign for her to keep going. “We would make up all these kinds of sports to play with our own rules. And I won most of them.” She said with a cocky grin.

“Did you live here?”

“Not literally, but I was here so often you could say I did. Jesse did, though, him and his dad. Me and some other friends would come here and stay for hours, while his dad and- and-” Fareeha stopped. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to tell Satya all about her life, but she was venturing over something she really didn’t want to even think about. Somehow, something inside her managed to keep her going. “My mother and his dad would talk. They were close friends.” Her voice came out dull as she struggled to not think about that part of her past again.

Satya had a worried expression. Her prosthetic was yet again reaching for the wound, and Fareeha made sure to gently move her arm back.

“I… I apologize if I am intruding,” She said.

“No, it’s alright. I didn’t mention anything about it before, not like you could have known. But I had fun. I don’t really talk to those people after…” Fareeha stopped again. She was going too far, it was the second time she was opening up about something so heavy and leaving herself vulnerable. But instead of stopping, she kept going. “After happened with my mother. The only one I keep in actual contact with is Jesse. He is a really nice person.”

“My condolences for your mother.” Satya said, and her look resembled worry. “Jesse is indeed very… Well, he’s persistent.”

“How so?” Fareeha asked, a weird feeling circling her as the realization of just how honest she was being slowly dawned.

“When I first moved in, he made sure to make me feel at home. Introduced all the neighbors, invited me to his parties and such. At first I was worried he was coming onto me.”  
When Fareeha couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea, Satya furrowed her brows. “What?”

“Well you’re not really his, uh, type. So don’t worry about that.” Satya’s eyebrows moved up, and she hummed.

“Good. He is far from my type as well.”

Fareeha felt her cheeks warm over the comment, and tried to convince herself Satya probably wasn’t talking about “types” the same way she was. But even then, her heart couldn’t help but flutter.

“But he is quite nice. I don’t usually go to parties my neighbors set up, but I had considered showing up.”

“That’s a shame.” Fareeha remembered when Sombra seemed fine with starting the party without Satya- Perhaps because no one really expected her to show up anyways. “How long have you been living here?”

“A little more than a year. I don’t know anyone else from the building besides the people Jesse introduced. They’re quite an… Interesting bunch.”

“They really are. I’ve met most of them today, in fact.”

“And what’s your verdict?” Satya asked with a hint of a smile on her face.

“Well, they’re… One of them set fire to our Monopoly board?”

Satya made a disgusted face.  
“You don’t even need to tell me who this one is. Him and that… Man he’s always with, they are pure chaos. I can’t count how many times I’ve been woken by them playing one of their heavy metals in the middle of the night or the amount of garbage they throw by my door. Is that the fire you were talking about earlier on the phone?”

“Yeah. I actually came over to get the fire extinguisher.”

“Then how did you end up finding me?”

Fareeha’s lips formed a thin line as she didn’t know what to say.  
“I hit my leg, I went over to…”

“That’s what you told Jesse,” Satya interrupted, “But we both know that’s not what happened.”

“Well, then what happened to you? How did you get that bite mark?”

Satya seemed taken aback by the question, but she sighed in response.  
“I doubt you would believe me if I were to tell the truth. So let’s just both forget our questions.”  
Before Fareeha could protest, Satya was already up, crossing her arms near her chest and looking distressed.

Fareeha didn’t know how to respond. She wanted to tell everything, but she couldn’t. She never could.

The two stood side by side silently, and Fareeha was just about to speak up when she caught a glimpse of something she hadn’t seen before, just behind the old hoop on the court.

Walking over to the hoop she found a basketball, and couldn’t help the goofy smile that formed right after. She remembered being the absolute best at the sport back then, and wondered if she still knew how to do it.

The ball was small in her hands, its size clearly fit for children, not some woman on her thirties like her, but she didn’t mind.

She gave it a test, throwing it down just to have it bounce back up.

“I don’t think we have enough people here to do a basketball match,” Satya spoke up, and Fareeha couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or just commenting.

The ball bounced on the ground once again, and Fareeha slowly bounced it over to Satya with a huge grin.

“That’s ok. Look at this, it’s ancient.”

“Fits with the building,” Satya added, eyes following the ball but refusing to touch it.

Fareeha giggled in response.  
“Yeah, it does.” She said, walking with it to the other end of the court.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking her for a ride. I bet no one uses this court, can’t leave this beauty unused, right?”

“I’m not sure we agree on the definition of beauty,” Satya replied, but she had the tiniest smirk forming on her lips.

“Laugh all you want, but let me tell you, I was an expert back then and I’m sure I still have some of that talent stored somewhere.” Fareeha said, attempting some of her old tricks with the ball as Satya pretended not to look.

“If anyone comes down here, I don’t know you.”

Fareeha laughed, walking to the center of the court with the ball. “When I get famous, I’ll remember your words.”

“I’m glad you will remember me,” Satya said, and Fareeha felt her cheeks warm, even if Satya was just playing along.

“Here, check this out,” Fareeha said with a smug smirk, the ball bouncing up and down as she eyed the basketball hoop. “That was just training. You’re about to be blown away by my basketball skills!”

She expected Satya to sneer at her and tell her to stop being so childish. However, she sat down on the nearest bench and narrowed her eyes. “Very well. Blow me away, then.”

Fareeha felt her cheeks boil, and she took a deep breath before getting her attention back to the ball. Right. She still remembered how to do it.

She started to walk, the ball bouncing swiftly as she hit it in rhythm, making sure she wouldn’t step on it or launch it straight to her face. As the hoop approached, she took the ball mid air, and jumped just as she threw the ball in.

Maybe it was the small size of the ball, or maybe she jumped a little too high, or maybe she was just too old; Because the ball just bounced on the hoop and came straight for her face, hitting her square on the nose, falling by her side as she landed on her ass.

“Fareeha!” She heard, and soon Satya was by her side. She looked worried, and Fareeha was still dizzy from the hit, unable to form a sentence and tell her she was fine. Instead, she attempted to make a thumbs up and shook it near her face. As the shock went away and the pain started to settle, her hand fell down to the ground.

“...Did… Did that count?”

Satya looked at her confused.

“What?”

“The ball. It was kinda of in the region of the hoop. Does that count? ...Do I get half a point?”

Satya didn’t answer. She just made a weird expression, and before Fareeha could ask if she was feeling sick again, Satya covered her mouth, her eyes closed tight.

She was smiling.  
Not just smiling; she was trying to stiffen a laugh, and failing. Her eyes narrowed as she tried not to chuckle.

Thousands of emotions went through Fareehas body, but all she could think was how Satya had the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.

“I-I apologize. I shouldn't laugh,” She said, the hand leaving her mouth as she huffed, the corners of her lips still turned.

“I’ll remember that when I’m famous too, just so you know.”

Satya chuckled in response, and Fareeha laughed back. It had been awhile she did, and she was surprised at how much she had missed it.

Until Satya’s laugh was cut short; Her joyful expression was then replaced by shock and a very clear hint of panic appeared on her eyes.

“What?” Fareeha asked, and just as she spoke she felt something wet slide down her mouth. Putting a hand on her lips just confirmed it; Her nose was bleeding.

Satya stumbled backwards immediately, and she was up in a second, her mouth trembling and her prosthetic reaching and scratching the wound aggressively.

“I- I need… I must go,” She said, backing away rapidly as Fareeha looked at her confused.

“Satya, don’t-” Fareeha said, but it was too late- Satya hissed in pain as the wound was open again, and she looked horrified just as it started to bleed.

Without another word, Satya started to walk away rapidly, and then run.

“Satya! Satya wait!” Fareeha called out as she got up, ignoring the sudden jolts of pain in her body as she bolted to where Satya had run off to.

As she could hear Satya’s footsteps just around the corner, she called out for Satya, begging for her to slow down. Her head ached and she felt as if the walls were closing up on her; her vision was blurring, her muscles were becoming sore- she knew exactly what was happening, but she chose to ignore it for once.

Fareeha couldn’t run anymore- her feet seemed to barely follow her commands and her mind wandered about, showing dozens of glimpses of her old memories of the place, all mumbled together as she walked around the corridor looking for Satya. She didn’t have a clue of where she currently was, and the footsteps had disappeared from her hearings.

The room seemed to close around her, the corridor was now a small square of walls with voices whispering around her. A loud and jarring sound was made as one of the walls of the room opened, and she walked out of it various doors seemed to face her.

A sudden noise caught her attention. A whimper, and Fareeha rushed to it with a willpower she never knew she had.

Her vision was less blurred, and she could see she had ended up back at the 14th floor. The doors all looked the same to her, and she could hear loud noises coming from Jesse’s apartment.

If she wanted, she could go back in and forget the night forever. Make up some story about hitting her head and passing out.

But she couldn’t. The before mysterious door was wide open, and she didn’t think twice before coming in.

“Satya? Satya, are you here?” She called out, and heard a surprised gasp.

Fareeha didn’t need to look around much. Satya was crouched by her side, holding with a firm grasp the arm with her open wound, mouth and sharp teeth dripping with blood.  
“Saty-”

“Go away,” Satya cried, backing away. “Just leave. I promise I’ll move out, you’ll never have to see me again. Just leave me alone.”

“Is… Is that how you got hurt?” Fareeha asked, stepping closer just as Satya backed more away. “Satya, you… Are you…”

“Leave. Fareeha, I don’t want to hurt you,” She replied. “You weren’t supposed to see me like this.”

“Satya, let me help you. Please.”

“You can’t help me, Fareeha. This won’t go away. Help yourself out, and leave.”

“There has to be something I can do.” Fareeha said, closing in Satya who soon found herself cornered. “Why are you taking your own blood?”

“There is no one else’s to take. I can’t… I don’t have the courage to take it from someone else. I’m a failure.” Satya said with a shaking voice.

“You’re not a failure! Satya, you’re a good person. You don’t deserve this.” Fareeha replied, placing both hands on Satya’s cheeks and looking into her eyes. “Let me help you.”

Satya’s cheeks were wet from tears and blood, but Fareeha didn’t care. She needed help, and Fareeha would help her. No matter what.

“Fareeha, you…”

“I get it now. You’re making yourself sick doing this, Satya.”

‘I can’t live without blood, Fareeha. There is nothing I can do but take my own.”

“Satya, listen to me. You’re only making things worse.” Fareeha sighed, closing her eyes tightly as she made a decision. There was no other option. “You can take mine.”

“What?”

“I know you don’t want to attack anyone. So I’m letting you take mine.” Before Satya could protest, Fareeha continued. “I’ll be fine. I swear.”

“You won’t. A human can’t survive this. It doesn’t matter if you give me permission. I can’t.”

“Do you know why I happened to find you?” Fareeha asked, and Satya shook her head. “You told me how you got that wound. It’s my turn to tell you the truth, then.”

And for the first time, in more than twenty years, Fareeha finally opened herself up. She told the story from beginning to end, to how her mother had vanished, to when the thing came. Satya listened intently, not saying a word as Fareeha talked, with tears coming down her eyes. All her memories were displayed, exhausting her to an extent she had trouble finishing her words as sobs built up her throat.

The two sat down against the wall, and at some point during the talk Satya had taken Fareehas hand on her own, holding it tight as she spoke.

Fareeha huffed as she finished talking. Her throat was sore and her eyes burned, and her heart was tight inside her chest. But still, she felt light- Her mind seemed much calmer than before.

“I…” Satya spoke up, choosing her words with care. “I appreciate you telling me this.”

Fareeha hummed in response. She was exhausted, and all she wanted was to enjoy the silence with Satya. The two sat quiet for some minutes, until Fareeha´s throat slowly stopped to ache.

“So…” She started, looking at Satya with tired eyes. “I still want to help you. And I’m sure I’ve proved I won’t die if I do,” Fareeha got up and gave a helping hand to Satya, who took it and stood up as well.

Satya seemed to deeply consider her options before sighing and looking back at Fareeha.

“Not here.” She said, looking around the room. “Follow me.”

\--

  
Fareeha found herself having trouble while following Satya. Her mind seemed confused and her body seemed slow; She just guessed she was still sore from the heavy conversation.

The two of them had ended up back at the 15th floor, and Fareeha took a deep breath as Satya guided her to a more secure part of the place. At least, it wouldn’t happen somewhere full of the drawings- Fareeha knew the thing would take the mixture of past and present memories to confuse her mind even more.

“I... “ Satya started, looking around anxiously. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes.” Fareeha replied, leaning against the nearest wall. Her head ached and she closed her eyes shut, finding Satya standing right in front of her when they opened back up.

“This may hurt,” Satya warned, and Fareeha shrugged in response.

“That’s life, I guess.” Fareeha replied. She had no idea of why she was so careless about the possibility of pain, but at the moment she was more occupied closing her eyes and hoping the headache would go away.

A sudden warm breath closed in her neck, and Fareeha felt her body relax and her cheeks burn. She could feel Satya close in on her, body pressed agaisnt hers as one hand held the back of her neck, moving it so Fareeha would turn her head a bit to the side.  
Fareeha thought the moment couldn’t possibly get more intimate, and just then she felt wet lips meet her skin. She couldn’t tell if it was a kiss, but her face burned as if it was one. She was torn between opening her eyes and taking a peek at what was happening or just relaxing and letting it.

The lips met her skin again, and again, roaming her neck with light kisses that made her heart flutter, when suddenly the lips stopped on a certain spot of her neck, and parted. Fareeha was absolutely sure she felt another kiss and a hint of tongue. Her cheeks were on fire, and she was about to ask Satya how something like this could possibly hurt.  
Until she felt it. A sudden sting of pain rushed through her entire body as she felt sharp teeth close around the spot while ripping through skin. It hurt in a way she had never felt before, a strange mixture of agonizing pain and pleasure all at once. She wanted to scream and moan at the same time, her neck burning as she could feel blood pour out of it.

Satya’s grip was surprisingly strong; She kept Fareeha’s neck still even as her reflexes tried to move it in pain. Fareeha could only wonder how her neck looked- Her eyes stayed shut as she found herself without courage to look.

As suddenly as it started, it ended- Satya pulled away with a loud gasp and the hand on Fareehas neck quickly rushed to cover the bleeding wound.

Fareeha opened her eyes slowly, finding herself gasping for breath much like Satya.

Satya’s eyes were wide, and large lines of blood dripped from her lips and her sharp teeth. She looked healthier than before, somehow. Revigorated, at least.

The two stared at each other in silence as they started to breath normally again, and Fareeha noticed Satya was still awfully close to her.  
Slowly, their distance began to close as they moved towards each other. Fareeha stopped close enough that their faces were almost touching, and she could feel Satya’s breathing on her lips. And then, Satya leaned in and closed the space between the two.

Their lips met and the two shared a chaste kiss, silently breaking it while still keeping close. Fareeha then went in and their lips met again, and yet again. The two started slowly, until Satya had made her tongue go inside Fareehas mouth.

Fareeha wanted the moment to stay like it was forever- Even as she felt the taste of her own blood while Satya kissed her, or when her sharp teeth lightly scraped Fareeha’s tongue. It didn’t matter. The wound on her neck didn’t matter, neither did the thing. Nothing but the moment mattered.

Satya was the one to stop, panting yet again and cleaning the blood on her chin.

“We need to cover your wound,’ She whispered, and Fareeha sighed. “Come to my apartment, we’ll take care of that.”

  
\--

Fareeha felt lightheaded.

After having the wound properly covered up, she helped Satya clean the mess on her apartment and watched as the woman made some tea. The two sat on Satya’s couch, alternating between talking and making out. Fareeha was too exhausted to do anything beyond that, and Satya wasn’t much different.  
A quick look at the clock showed that it was almost four AM. Fareeha was surprised at how quickly time was passing, but at the same time she was comfortable staying exactly where she was.

Besides, she had started feeling dizzy again, and getting a bus at this time of the night in this state didn’t really sound that good.

She then noticed Satya still wore the necklace she had seen earlier, and her curiosity grew.

“Is the necklace part of the costume?” She asked, and Satya narrowed her eyes and seemed deep in thought before finally replying.

“No.” She said, taking it out of her neck and showing it to Fareeha in its full glory. It wasn’t bat themed like the rest of her costume, and had a red jewel in its center. “But I am glad you asked.”

Fareeha sat up straight, waiting for Satya to continue.

“This,” Satya said with a voice that insinuated pride, ”Is an ancient relic of ours, passed by generations in each family. We are to give them to our one true love.”

Fareeha felt her throat get dry and her heart stop beating. Her mouth hang agape and she tried to form a sentence, not knowing what to even think, much less say as Satya put the necklace around her neck, being careful not to open the wound.

“I- What? Is… Are you being serious…?”  
Satya simply narrowed her eyes, as if implying indignance, how dare she question such an act. Her eyebrows went up suddenly, and her face turned as neutral as neutral would go.

“No. I lied. I bought it in a convenience store.” She deadpanned, her voice completely serious and not a single sign of a forming laugh on her profile. “It’s a joke.”

Fareeha simply nodded at first, processing the situation at a snail's pace. She then frowned, and Satya lifted one eyebrow, as if waiting for an understanding click from her brain.

And then Fareeha suddenly beamed, startling Satya, and started to giggle.  
The giggle turned into a laugh, the laugh into a cackle, and soon Fareeha was laughing like she had just heard the best joke of her entire life. Satya looked at her in confusion, as if she wasn't really expecting her weird joke to land in the first place.  
But it did, somehow, and Fareeha was hysterical.  
Satya merely smiled with pride.

The sudden burst of energy was what Fareeha needed. As much as she enjoyed Satya’s company, she knew she had to go back to Jesse. She didn’t even know what she was going to say and admittedly she felt guilty for bailing, but she could make something up. She got up, and the look Satya had was almost enough to make her sit down back again.  
“I need to go now,’ Fareeha said, ignoring the sudden pressure on her head. “I have to explain why I bailed to Jesse. I won’t mention you,” She slurred, her voice sounding foreign. Satya frowned.

“Are you feeling…?”

“I’m ok, don’t worry.” Fareeha replied. Satya seemed doubtful, but gave in. “I’ll see you,”

The two shared one last kiss, and Fareeha finally left the apartment with a sigh, closing the door behind her.

As if on cue, her headache came in with full force, and Fareeha found herself zig zaging around the doors. Her hands were everywhere; The touched the walls, scratched her skin, and finally, they rested where the wound was , ripping its coverings and letting the blood pour down.

It was too late. Her vision was grey as she stared at the hands she had lost control of, her feet moved without her consent and her nails were dirty with her blood. She wanted to turn back and run to Satya, but her body made its own decisions.

It was her fault, and she knew it. She had left herself vulnerable, ignored the signs. Now, she could only watch the consequences of her actions.

Her hands tapped on Jesse’s door, pressing the doorbell and fidgeting around. She heard voices inside, and was greeted by Sombra, who looked both tired and completely wasted.

“Joel, she’s back!” She said with a laugh, stepping backwards and almost falling over. The place was empty, full of plastic cups thrown by and bottles of wine and beer. Her body walked in silently as Sombra seemed to laugh at nothing.

Jesse came in quickly, wiping his wet hands on his pants and stopping just in front of Fareeha.

“Fareeha! You… Where were you?! Tried callin’ ya but your phone didn't answer, everyone was worried!”

“Is the party… Over?” Fareeha asked, and even she knew her voice didn’t sound normal. Jesse looked surprised, and suddenly his face went white. Even Sombra looked worried.

“Fareeha, your bleedin’?! What-”

His voice was cut off. He was still talking, but Fareeha couldn’t hear any of his words. Instead, her body moved towards one of the bottles, taking it in her hands.

Jesse kept talking, and even Sombra was pipping in- Fareeha wished she could hear what they said, wished she could tell them what-

A loud crash interrupted her thoughts, and her trembling hands held the broken bottle against her skin.

The last thing she heard was Jesse screaming before everything went black.

\--

Fareeha could hear beeping.

Her eyes shot open, meeting a sterile ambient and realizing she was in a bed.

Her body felt sore as she quickly moved her hands, checking to see if the thing was still in control- A sigh of relief came out as they followed her orders.

It didn’t take long to realize she was in a hospital. By her side, some shuffling took her attention.

It was Jesse, who was asleep on a chair right next to her bed, his sarape wrapped around him like a cocoon and his hat resting by his feet. She immediately felt guilt strike her; had he slept there?

Just as she made a move to sit up, his eyes lazily opened, the bags under them even darker than the previous night.

As soon as they made eye contact, he jolted awake and practically jumped to his feet.

“F-Fareeha!” He went for a hug, but stepped back in fear of hurting her. “What happened?! You...You vanished and… I thought of goin’ lookin’ for ya but then you came in and… The hell was that whole bottle thing?! Were you high?!”

Fareeha simply squinted, a headache starting to worm its way in as she struggled to sit up.

“I was sober, Jesse. I'm fine now.” She replied, going to scratch her neck but stopping as she felt a bandage covering the wound. She cursed herself for forgetting to make up a story to justify her absence.

She was about to try and explain her wound when he moved down and took something out of his sarape. Her heart froze as he showed the jewellery Satya had given her the night before.

“Guessing this has somethin’ to do with yesterday,” His voice sounded serious. Before Fareeha could speak, he made a motion to put it around her neck. She accepted it quietly, muttering a thanks as he finished.

“Doctor said you lost some blood, had this wound on your neck like if an animal had bit ya,” He said, voice groggy, even more than it usually was. His obvious worry hurt more than the reason she got there in the first place. “Listen. I…” He paused, rubbing his temples together and letting out a tired sigh, “I think we gotta talk. Been awhile since we did, just you and me. But I'm not gonna bug ya now, doctor said you need some rest.”

Fareeha didn't know what to say. She wanted to tell him, all of it. But what even was all? It was more than just the night, maybe more than just the thing. Her throat felt rasp, and she weakly grabbed his flesh hand, keeping her eyes on him.

“I'm sorry,” She muttered, “I'll tell you everything. I swear.”  
Fareeha felt as if a weight was slowly being lifted from her shoulders. Just the thought of finally being able to talk to him made her feel so much calmer.

Jesse sighed. She knew he wanted to talk now, but they both silently agreed that it was best to do so later.

“How was the party, anyways?”

Jesse had already let go of her hand, and was now crouching to pick up his hat and try and fold his sarape in a neat bundle.

“We gave up on Uno, tried to play Twister,” He replied, placing the cloth and hat on the chair and wiping sleep from his eyes, “Everyone but me was a little drunk and Jamie didn't know right from left, kept shoving ‘imself between Makos legs,” Jesse paused, a frown forming on his face, “If I'm bein’ honest I think he was doin’ that second thing on purpose. Kept waggling his brows and making these shocked faces,” He said, imitating one of his exaggerated expressions, earning a giggle from Fareeha.

“Anyways, we got kinda tired of just watching ‘im try to shank Mako and exchanged gifts.” He frowned at her, and she was about to ask what it was about when it clicked.

“Oh no, Jesse I- You didn't-”

“Nah, it's ok. The doctor found it with you,” He pointed to an open blue package at the corner of the room. “Gotta be honest I was kinda surprised. First I thought you forgot and went to buy it, but then the hell was the box you gave me earlier? Then I saw the way it was wrapped and got it.”

Fareeha felt her heart accelerate. Did he know…?

“I'm guessing you met Satya. I kinda figured she wouldn't show up, but I was surprised she gave her gift to ya. Last time she just left it by my door,” He said, and Fareeha could feel every muscle of her body unwind. “Oli- Sombra loved the gift. Was with me here for a while, never seen her so serious. Least you look better now, less pale and dead lookin’,” He said the last part mostly to himself, and she pretended not to hear.

They had some small talk as time passed; Jesse doing most of it, followed by nods and smiles from Fareeha. He told her about the rest of the parties events; And was in the middle of telling how Sombra illegally downloaded a movie when he bit his tongue and stopped, only calming down when she told she wouldn't arrest them for piracy.

“Anyways. You won't believe who called last night.” He said, voice more relaxed than before as he dig in the yogurt the nurse had left with her meal. “Gnhenji,” He answered right after, mouth half full.

Fareeha cocked an eyebrow, leaving the plastic fork on her plate of whatever-the-mush-hospitals-served-as-breakfast-was.

“Really? What for?”

He placed the empty container near her plate and shrugged, drops of its content glued to his messy beard, “Just wanted to talk. Haven't seen ‘im for a while. Said he's coming over from Nepal.”

“When?”

“Didn't give me a date, just told me that. Told me he called Lena too, and tried to call you but ya didn't answer.”

Oh, well.

“Speakin’ of Lena…” He said, clasping his hands together.

Before he could continue, a light knock on the door called their attention. The nurse that was taking care of her came in, followed by an antsy and skinny woman. Who-

“Fareeha!” She spoke, and the strong british accent dragged her memories to the surface. She only heard Jesse mutter ‘Speak of the devil…’ before Lena was by her side, hands twitchy as if she wanted to crush her in an embrace, but knew better.

“Oh love, it's… Been a while! What happened to ya? Jessie just told me over the phone you blacked out and I came rushing ‘ere!”

Before Fareeha could even open her mouth to try and make up an excuse, Jesse smiled and gave her a light pat on the shoulder as soon as the nurse left.

“Drank too much. Tried to go all high and mighty and pretend to be a rockstar, broke the table and hit her head,” He said. “Scraped her neck too.” Fareeha wanted to simultaneously thank him for saving her skin and scowl him for lying, but instead she kept quiet, simply smiling and nodding.

“Damn. Must have been a nasty fall!” She replied, seemingly believing the ruse. “Never knew you were such a party animal, though!”

“Haha. Well, I'm just very passionate about rock. Couldn't just dance to it, had to do the whole performance, you know?”

“I feel ya. Well, when you’re recovered from your party shenanigans, we should all hang out! I’d love for you guys to meet Emily.” Lena said excitedly, and Fareeha smiled.

Lena and Jesse both didn’t leave Fareeha’s side for hours- The trio had much to talk about. Somewhere along the conversation, Lena had suggested they should skype Genji to join in, just like the old times. Fareeha had already forgotten anything about pain or sorrow when the call ended, and Lena had bolted out of her room back to her job. Jesse had followed right after, but not before sharing a knowing look with Fareeha.

Fareeha felt relaxed. Talking with her old friends again did wonders to her, and as she attempted to sleep she couldn’t help but smile.

Some time later, she heard someone quietly came inside, and guessed it was the nurse checking in.

Even with her eyes closed, she noticed the room was slowly becoming darker all of the sudden, each lowering of the lights followed by the sound of curtains being closed.

“Hey, you can leave those open-” She stopped mid sentence as soon as she met eyes with the figure smiling softly by her side. “SAT-”  
Satya made a sign to keep it down and removed the sunglasses she was wearing, bright eyes glowing on the darker room.

“Sorry,” She whispered, showing her excitement not with words, but with the biggest smile she managed to give. “I can't believe you're here.”  
Satya smiled again, placing a gentle hand on Fareehas cheek.

Her eyes dropped a little when she noticed the curative carefully done on her neck.

“I… When I heard the ambulance, and Jesse screaming, I…” Satya started, and Fareeha noticed she looked exhausted. “I… I apologize.” She said, voice bathed in guilt and remorse. “I shouldn't… I shouldn't have-”

Fareeha gave her a little laugh and a reassuring wave of her hand.  
“I've had papercuts which were worse.” A pause. “Besides, if it means I get a visit from you. “

Satya couldn't contain a smile. A delicate hand, her flesh one, made its way to examine the cover with care. She still held a worried look, but much more calmer than before.

“It wasn’t your fault, anyways. I took the covering out.”  
Satya looked shocked for a moment.

“What?”

“I lost control. It just… It took it out. I couldn’t stop it.”

Satya made an understanding hum, but her face still looked worried as she caressed the area around the wound.

The hand traced its way down and around Fareehas chest and Satya let her head fall over to the side as she touched the necklace, still proudly displayed around Fareehas neck.

“You're still wearing it,” Satya said with what sounded like slight disbelief, but Fareehas knowledge of investigation was quick to show it was not the case; she was genuinely surprised, and maybe even flattered.

“Yeah,” Fareeha replied, “Its cute.”

“It's… It's store bought. I can buy you something that's… Actually valuable, you know?” She replied, certain concern on her voice.

“Yeah, but you gave me this when we first met. I never want to forget, Satya. If it tries to take yesterday away from me, I'll have this. Forever.” Fareeha replied, “And also, plastic lasts for like, hundreds of years. So it'll last.”

Satyas eyes widened, but soon the corners of her lips quirked up and she sighed.

“You're incredible.” She said.

Fareeha smiled, just as Satya leaned in and closed the space between the two with a kiss.

Maybe things were coming back to normal.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading my fic,and I hope you liked it!!!  
> Also the title doesnt...make much sense but I had the idea 4 this au while I was listening to this song  
> ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-HonQmNgsc ) so thats where the name came from!  
> I'm thinking of maybe? Making this a series with one chapter stories based with Halloween aus but who knows lo l, I already have some ideas for a story with good old cboy-is-short-for-cowboy man over here so (also I got his dumb Halloween skin so like. Thanks blizzard but I Can't Fucking Aim)  
> Also I REALLY want to write something involving symms new dragon skin so let see how that goes  
> And for those of you who are confused over the joel part, well long story short I saw a post where APPARENTLY old McDonald writes reports and shit under the name of fuckung Joel Morricone and I would have died if I hadn't included at least a reference to this because like. Come on. Mcree get a fucking grip you buffoon  
> (Also also I'm currently writing the next chapter for chatwatch, so dw about me dropping that


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